About the Author

Richard C. Hollinger, PhD

Dr. Hollinger recently retired as professor emeritus of the Department of Sociology and Criminology & Law at the University of Florida, Gainesville. He was director of the Security Research Project, which annually conducts the National Retail Security Survey. He will continue as contributor, editor, and co-principal investigator. Dr. Hollinger can be reached at rhollin (at) ufl (dot) edu.
Dr. Hollinger received both his baccalaureate and masters degrees at the University of Georgia. He then completed his graduate studies at the University of Minnesota, where he received a Ph.D. in Sociology in 1979.

Throughout his career, Dr. Hollinger's research has been principally focused on the topic of "white-collar crime”—more specifically, deviant and criminal behavior committed in the course of one's occupation. In addition to numerous articles published in scholarly and professional journals, Dr. Hollinger is the author of three books, Theft by Employees (with John P. Clark) (Lexington Books, 1983), Dishonesty in the Workplace: A Manager's Guide to Preventing Employee Theft (London House Press, 1989), and Crime, Deviance and the Computer, published by Dartmouth Press in 1997.

Dr. Hollinger currently serves on the editorial advisory board of the Security Journal and is a regular columnist for LP Magazine. He sits on the Loss Prevention Advisory Committee of the National Retail Federation. In June 2007, he was elected into the prestigious “Ring of Excellence” by the National Retail Federation in recognition for his contribution of research on loss prevention and retail crime over his academic career. In addition, he is a member of various academic professional associations, such as the American Sociological Association, the American Society of Criminology, and the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.

Dr. Hollinger has presented his research nationally and internationally to numerous, corporations, professional groups and associations, such as the American Society of Industrial Security, National Retail Federation, RILA, International Association of Hospital Security, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Institute of Internal Auditors, Urban Land Institute, Home Center Institute, Retail Council of Canada, National Association of Recording Merchandisers, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, PROVAR (University of Sao Paulo, Brazil), ANTAD (Mexican retail association) and both the Colombian and Australian Retail Association.

Articles by Richard C. Hollinger, PhD

One of the most commonly held principles of shrinkage reduction, especially for shoplifting deterrence, is achieved by giving good customer service. This idea is predicated upon the assumption that if potential thieves enter the store, they will be deterred from stealing if sales associates quickly make contact with them by

I am constantly on the lookout for research studies conducted on the subject of theft by employees.

A few years ago, I came across a study conducted by Kessler International, a forensic accounting and investigative firm. In a press release from 2013, I found that Kessler had conducted an anonymous survey

When I was a doctoral graduate student at the University of Minnesota during the late 1970s, I began conducting research on employee theft. At the time this was an area of criminology that was virtually unexplored. I found that it was hard to study this subject then, since few retailers

For more than 30 years, I have been researching employee theft, occupational crime, employee dishonesty, and workplace deviance. I peruse scholarly journals and academic publications regularly for research studies that could help us all better understand this phenomenon.

This post features a couple of relevant employee theft articles that may shed

When I was first asked to write a regular column for their brand new publication Loss Prevention magazine, Jack Trlica and Jim Lee suggested that I focus on the linkage between academic research and the day-to-day practice of loss prevention. Fifteen years ago my first column in the inaugural issue

The 2016 National Retail Security Survey (NRSS) based on 2015 data from retailers was released at the recent National Retail Federation (NRF) PROTECT Conference held in Philadelphia. Now in its twenty-fifth year, the NRSS continues to be the bellwether survey that retail loss prevention executives use to compare themselves to

“Workplace Theft: An Analysis of Student-Employee Offenders and Job Attributes” is an article authored by Elizabeth Ehrhardt Mustaine (University of Central Florida) and Richard Tewksbury (University of Louisville) and published in the American Journal of Criminal Justice 27:1 (pages 111 – 127, 2002). This employee theft study surveyed a large

This year I will turn sixty-six years old and intend to retire after over thirty-six years in academia, including thirty-three years at the University of Florida. I will still be affiliated with the University of Florida as a professor emeritus. This is a voluntary decision that my wife, Candy, and

For over twenty years the industry has recognized and used the National Retail Security Survey (NRSS) as a key benchmark for retail loss prevention. This retail security research project studies numerous elements of workplace-related criminality, along with identifying successful security counter-measures to protect people, assets, and brands in the retail

The final report of the 2010 National Retail Security Survey (NRSS) recently has been released in its nineteenth edition and has been posted on the web. This column is an executive summary of the major findings of this report.

Current Issue

From shoplifting response and reaction to a conversation with a supply chain omni-channel expert, from the bumpy road of supply chain security to managing unexpected loss in the bagging area, the January–February 2019 issue of LP Magazine delivers great ideas to make you a smarter LP professional.